


Nowhere to Run

by Eos_x



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Art, BAMF Todd, Blood and Injury, Brotherhood, Developing Relationship, Fanart, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Rescue Missions, Runner, Self-Sacrifice, Telepathy, Villain Character Death, Violence, Whump, Wraith (Stargate), Wraith Feeding, enemies to frenemies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:02:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26854153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eos_x/pseuds/Eos_x
Summary: Ronon and Todd have to work together to chase down Sheppard, who has been forced to become a Runner. They have to reach him before one of the many Wraith Hunters get to him first.Or,John’s definitely too old for this crap, Todd might just be a killer with a heart of gold, Ronon witnesses some crazy shit and then has to do a lot of thinking.Oh! With art!
Relationships: John Sheppard & Todd the Wraith, John Sheppard/Todd the Wraith, Ronon Dex & John Sheppard
Comments: 45
Kudos: 63
Collections: Oh for the love of Todd!





	1. RUN

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Palatinedreams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palatinedreams/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [Palatinedreams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palatinedreams/pseuds/Palatinedreams) in the [Todd_fanworks_challenge](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Todd_fanworks_challenge) collection. 



> This story is for the lovely and talented Palatinedreams. May it whisk you away to a land of strange crystal cliffs where heroes and villains face off over one messy-haired Colonel... :D
> 
> A very BIG thank you to both Bagheerita and Salchat for their help on this fic. Ronon's POV made this quite a challenge but I think it came together and wound up better than I could have possibly managed on my own. 
> 
> This fic has a few cropped sections of larger art pieces embedded in the story. For the full versions of the artworks, check out the works inspired by this story. 
> 
> And... I did it! I actually managed to post this on my birthday! Huzzah! (Although for many of you it will still be my birthday eve at present). :D

Ronon scowled at the sight of the Wraith’s face looming large on the viewscreen, imperious features intensified uplit by an eerie green glow. After months of fruitless searches and dwindling intel, Woolsey had no choice left but to reach out to their Wraith ‘ally’. Ronon scrutinized their last resort; he who intruded in their lives with his mocking voice and false smiles. 

_Todd_. 

“While it is always a pleasure to hear from Atlantis, Mr. Woolsey, would you kindly get to the point of this unexpected communication?”

“Well, as I was about to say, Todd, we--”

The Wraith cut him off. “But where is Colonel Sheppard? I must admit, he adds a certain… brazen charm to our conversations.”

There must have been something in the expedition leader’s expression because the Wraith sat up a little straighter. As Woolsey explained Sheppard’s situation, Ronon told himself that there was nothing to infer from the way the Wraith’s expression changed from polite patience to incandescent rage, growling the word “runner” under his breath. 

And later, the Satedan remained resolutely unimpressed when the gate activated and Chuck’s voice rang out with, “Offworld activation!” Instead, Ronon leaned back against a pillar and restlessly chewed on a strip of _vilandros_ meat, watching as the marines took up their positions and Woolsey appeared at the top of the stairs. 

The event horizon had barely settled when Todd came striding through the ring practically vibrating with unmasked fury. The sheer force of his presence sent the team of armed marines shuffling backwards as Ronon pulled out his gun. Teyla entered the room from Ronon’s left, only to cry out in pain. She grasped at her head, knees buckling and sending her to the floor. Even the Wraith officer who trailed behind his leader looked visibly shaken.

The enraged Wraith High Commander scanned the room, predatory eyes settling on Ronon. “Satedan!”

Ronon‘s gut twisted with loathing as he got right up into the Wraith’s face, spoiling for a fight. He was eager to vent his fury at the loss of Sheppard, needing a release for his pent-up frustration. 

“Where is he?” Ronon challenged, ignoring the warning hiss of the younger Wraith.

While they were almost equal in height, Todd still seemed to glare down at him. “I have a gate address,” he intoned, curling his lip to bare teeth. 

“Team’s ready.” He jerked his head to indicate Lorne’s team over by Teyla, who was waving off Rodney’s attempts to help her stand. 

“Absolutely not,” the Wraith objected. “I cannot be seen to conspire with Lanteans.”

Rodney squawked out, “Um, what?! If you even think you’re‒” but his tirade was interrupted by Woolsey, who looked to be gearing up with a lengthy objection of his own. 

Ronon shot Todd a dark look before striding across the gateroom to place himself beside the gate. Crossing his arms, he called out, “If you’re going, I’m going, _Wraith_.” 

He couldn’t read Todd’s blank expression, but was deeply satisfied by the outrage on the face of the younger Wraith. Woolsey engaged them in a tense debate, punctuated by Rodney’s wild gestures and Teyla’s calm interjections. Ronon didn’t give a damn about the details, but he was impressed by the Earther for standing his ground. Although, he suspected that Woolsey’s habit of removing and wiping his spotless glasses left him incapable of seeing the more frightening details, like Todd’s teeth.

The group broke up, with the Wraith Officer remaining beside Woolsey and a moment later, the gate fired. Pushing off the edge of the ring, Ronon met Todd in front of the event horizon. Nose to nose with Todd, he was close enough to see what lay carefully guarded behind those flashing yellow eyes. Without a word, Ronon nodded once and got a bitter grumble in reply. Todd whirled on the spot, coattails sweeping the ground around him and, not bothering to check that Ronon was following, he marched toward the ring. 

As Ronon stepped through the rippling surface, he shook his head in an effort to clear his thoughts. Catching a glimpse of the Wraith’s fear, lurking there just beneath the raging surface, had been enough to get Ronon moving. Why the hell was this _Wraith_ so damn afraid for Sheppard anyway?

There was no time to consider the question; one dizzying moment later, they were there. Wherever _there_ was. He didn’t recognise this world from his days as a runner or from his travels with the Lanteans; he would have remembered such a strange landscape. The Stargate had delivered them onto a woodland plateau that went for miles before tapering off into the distance. To their left, the elevated plain dropped off to a wide expanse of inky blue ocean. 

Sheer cliffs rose up behind the gate and curved around on their right, with a smooth surface that looked impossible to scale. Glassy and opaque in some places, marbled through with purple ribbons and milky whites in others, the peculiar rock reflected light back over the dense forest, bathing it in a soft lavender hue. The towering ridge of crystalline rock framed the stepped land which spread out just below the gate platform.

Rolling his shoulders and flexing his back, Ronon felt the satisfying series of pops and cracks down his spine. His lower back had been bothering him, reminding him that he probably wouldn’t make it as a runner these days. Also, having to rely on a Wraith wasn’t exactly helping the situation. Or his mood.

As he chewed on another mouthful of dried meat, he looked over at the figure standing right on the edge of a rocky outcrop. Ronon had to squint against the bloated golden sun rising slowly over the water, crowned by a much smaller ruby daystar hovering just above it. Dawn light framed the Wraith’s silhouette in a warm corona while that wild mane of his appeared to glow like a bloodred halo. Their elevated position allowed them an unimpeded view that went for miles. 

Todd had his head tilted back and his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face. Ronon tongued the wad of meat into his cheek and rumbled his impatience. The Wraith turned his head slowly towards him but then back in the direction of the sea. If Ronon had to guess, he reckoned that Todd was tracking for other Wraith. Not that he was forthcoming with any results, of course. _Typical wiley bastard._

Right. Time to get moving.

“Hey. Todd.” _Nothing_. “Let’s go find Sheppard.”

Ronon lifted his chin and spat; a glob of masticated meat flew in a perfect arc and landed on Todd's boot. The Wraith peered down at it and sniffed, flicking his foot and sending it into the nearest bush. Ronon sniggered. Sheppard wouldn’t approve, but then the Earther had thought it was funny to give each Wraith a name. Also seemed to think that it made them less like the hideous life-suckers they really are. Humanised them, he claimed. _Yeah, right._

Ronon was bouncing on the balls of his feet, fed up with waiting. He’d rather not run into a Hunting party but if the Wraith took much longer, he’d leave Todd’s green ass behind. “Let’s. Go. Find. _Sheppard_.”

Todd sighed and turned to face him. “I am attempting to determine the presence of any lifeforms on this world, human or Wraith. You are making it… difficult.”

“Well, s’taking you long enough.”

“My sincere apologies, Ronon Dex,” the Wraith hissed dangerously. “If you can mentally sweep for signs of life, please, be my guest.” 

And then the pompous alien even bowed a little, arms held out with palms up in mock deference. Ronon growled and glanced over at the path leading away from the Stargate, shoulder barging his way past the grinning Wraith. 

The Colonel always seemed to ignore the fact that this one, Sheppard’s ‘Todd’, seemed to find them all endlessly amusing. Ronon sighed. _Sheppard’s Todd._ None of the Lanteans seemed bothered by that anymore. Sure, there were still some who scurried out of the Wraith’s way when he visited Atlantis. Or more like, when he swept through the city like he owned the place. 

Sweating already in the heat of the morning, Ronon’s fingers tightened around the butt of his gun and he stood there, furiously flipping the switch on his gun from ‘stun’ to ‘kill’ and back again. Kill, stun. Kill stun. 

He began pacing at the head of the pathway, glaring at the Wraith, who was once again infuriatingly still and serene at the edge of the outcrop. _One push,_ Ronon thought. _It would be so easy…_

“Careful, Satedan,” cautioned the dual-toned voice. “Surely you do not wish to be rid of me yet. Who else will find the precious Colonel for you?”

“Listen, _Todd_ ,” Ronon stopped pacing and pointed his weapon at the back of Todd’s head. “You’d better find him, goddammit, or else--”

But his threat was cut off by a blur of white and black and suddenly Todd’s face was inches from his own, his pale forehead resting against the barrel of his gun. Todd’s teeth were on display as he hissed, “I am listening, _Dex_.”

Ronon pressed the gun into the sharp black point of the starburst around Todd’s eye. “Or else, _Wraith_ , I’ll dial up a Spacegate and throw your ass through the ring.” 

Todd leaned in and whispered, “Now that will prove rather challenging without a functioning DHD.”

Ronon kept the gun digging into Todd’s tattoo while he glanced over to the gate. Sure enough, the dial home device had been removed. How could he have _missed_ that? His hand was shaking with frustration; there was no way for Sheppard to get off this world. And neither could he. Of course, that wouldn’t be a problem for the Hunters, they could dial out with their darts. He took a deep breath and then another, calming himself down. Getting angry now wouldn’t help them. Shep’s voice breezed through his mind; _Let it go, big guy._

At this point in his life, he wasn’t really sure if he even _wanted_ to let go of the ceaseless anger that hounded him. The rage that built up and up, threatening to consume him with every waking breath. It had become something of a macabre comfort. His fury was this searing shroud that fueled his resolve and he needed it to keep him going. 

Ronon thought about pulling the trigger, resting his right ear on his shoulder, and staring down the sights of his gun. At the other end of his barrel, Todd cocked his head to the left, mirroring Ronon’s movement. 

A warm breeze danced by, laced with the scents of rich soil and _astrum_ flowers. The weight of memory forced his chin to his chest, people ghosting through his mind, judging. His guardians and kin, features twisted in fear as they ran. The Taskmaster, snarling desperate commands mere inches from his face. And Melena...

As they faded away, new ones appeared; Teyla striding through a hive as Steelflower, then as herself again in Athos with little Torren. McKay bitching at a group of bewildered Wraith technicians, listing their inadequacies as though they were his hapless minions. And Sheppard…

“Even if he’s here, he could be anywhere on this world,” Ronon muttered. 

“Oh, he is here but he will not get far,” Todd explained. “Those cliffs run the length of this tableland until they cut it off just beyond what we can see.”

“A dead end?”

“Yesss,” Todd articulated with a satisfied hiss. 

Ronon shivered. He could barely tolerate the Wraith, but somehow he had to just get on with it. Ronon dropped his arm and holstered his weapon. Todd stepped back and returned to his ‘sweeping’. They were both there for Sheppard, to get him back. To try to reach him before one of the Wraith hunters beat them to it and claimed the life of the infamous Colonel John Sheppard. Their runner. Their prize. 

And now he was here. Waiting. Thinking. One glimpse of true fear in the Wraith’s eyes back in Atlantis had him questioning the truths he had clung onto like a lifeline. Is that what it took to stifle the loathing that rose like bile, acidic and bitter, every time he had to work with a Wraith? With _that_ Wraith? 

Ronon wondered, not for the first time, what the hell it was that seemed to bind Sheppard to that Wraith. And, more importantly, why the hell did this Wraith seem to care?

If they couldn’t save Sheppard, surely this self-important High Commander would just return to his hives and get on with his life. Todd wouldn’t even mourn for Sheppard, his supposed ‘brother’. Did Wraith even cry? 

**************

Ronon paced at the cliff’s edge, watching the dark water laid out far below, white caps breaking over the hungry rocks. 

Without warning, he heard a low growl from Todd and spun around only to blind himself. The blazing suns were bouncing back off the polished rock face, glaring white and obscuring the Wraith for a moment. Shielding his eyes he saw Todd’s head snap to the right and he took off, ignoring the pathway and plunging straight into the trees. Ronon had to run at top speed as he kept losing sight of the Wraith as he ran, vaulting over fallen trees and ducking under low hanging limbs. 

Sweat poured off him as he tore through the dense bush, tracking brief glimpses of white, there and gone again in an instant. They continued down the hillside and around in a sweeping curve, deeper into the valley. Trees whipped by, turning the harsh glare of sunlight off the cliffs into stuttering violet pulses.

He finally broke through the tree line moving at top speed, so intent on locating the Wraith that the sudden roar of rushing water took him by surprise. The ground ended so abruptly that he dropped over the edge, plunging into an ice-cold churning river. Ronon tumbled around beneath the surface as the current raced down-river, lungs burning for air. He hit the bottom, his back scraping along jagged rock, but managing to kick off the uneven river bed.

Ronon made for the surface, the angry daystar wavering like a mirage above him, his arms reeling, his legs kicking. He broke through and sucked in glorious gulps of air. His brain clicked sluggishly toward something important; alien suns, yellow and red… gemstone cliffs of quartz… dark wooded plateau… sudden drop into an ink-stained sea… 

_Waterfall_.

Propelled into motion, Ronon dragged his tired body through the powerful water to the other side. His hands slapped against the steep riverside, only to slip straight back off the glassy bank. He couldn’t grab on; the slick amber and black striations merely mirrored his horrified expression. The top edge of the bank was only just out of reach, but there wasn’t a single notch or hanging branch ahead of him. The light brightened as he shot towards the falls - 

Fifty feet. Ronon dipped below the surface, sunk to the bottom, and kicked off with everything he had -- 

Thirty feet. He leaped up and slammed himself against the unforgiving rock -- 

Fifteen feet. He groped wildly at the slick surface -- 

Ten feet. He took a deep breath and --

Five feet. “Todd!” _Goddammit._ “Todd!”

A hand reached out and grabbed his flailing arm, stopping his rapid motion with such force that he bit down on his tongue. Hard. Ronon’s legs shot out from under him and suddenly the water was gone and he was swinging out over empty space, spray from the waterfall obscuring the rocks far, far below. He hung on for dear life as Todd used his momentum to fling him around the outcrop, then throwing him back up and over the lip of the cliff. 

“Fuck!” Ronon lay there panting for a moment, appreciating each and every tree root digging painfully into his back. He closed his eyes as the combined warmth of the suns heated his skin and began baking the leather of his clothes. That was close. Way too close. Such a stupid mistake had almost cost him his life when he was supposed to be rescuing Sheppard. _If Todd hadn’t been there…_

Speaking of, a shadow blocked the sun on his face and Ronon reluctantly opened his eyes.

“Do try to keep up, Satedan,” Todd rumbled, the dual tones of smug sarcasm grating on Ronon’s frayed nerves. Ronon met Todd’s grin with a pained grimace.

“If you hadn’t’ve run off, _Wraith_...” he accused, but it lacked his usual heat. 

“And if I _‘hadn’t’ve’_ run back, _human..._ ” Todd replied with a growing smile. He walked away then but paused, waiting impatiently at the edge of the trees. Ronon sat up wearily, checked himself for injuries but found nothing dire and rose to his feet. 

“Damn it!” he cursed. The Wraith was gone again. 

  
  


************************************************


	2. FIGHT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todd and Ronon finally manage to get to Sheppard. Todd has a plan but it might cost them all more than he bargains for...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments so far! This is a chapter with a fair bit of whump for Todd, Ronon, and John, so brace yourselves!!

Hours of steady tracking, this time with Todd remaining in close range, lead them further down the plain to where the trees grew closer together and the land dipped into a valley. Even in this shadowed, cooler stretch of the forest, the spectral peaks blanketed the woods in a rich wine _josta_ berry haze. 

Todd veered off to the right, and when Ronon caught up to him again, he skidded to a stop. The Wraith was standing in the centre of a small clearing, surrounded by half a dozen masked warriors. One of the drones shifted sideways and there he was. _Sheppard_. 

The Colonel was on his knees and had his back to them, but even so, Ronon catalogued his condition. Torn filthy BDUs, backpack thrown to one side, hair matted with blood, dried rusty flakes on his ear, scrapes and bruising on the backs of his arms hanging limp at his sides. He was listing to one side and his shoulders heaved as he panted for breath, but he was alive. Exhausted and injured, but _alive_. 

Only then did Ronon allow himself a longer look at the Wraith standing before Sheppard. He was simply gargantuan; a Hunter. Taller even than Todd, and broader too, this Wraith exuded strength and dominance. 

Ronon shuddered at the memory of facing off against the unstoppable Wraith Commander on his homeworld. This one had similar brutish features but was completely bald, his scalp covered by one tattoo. From a sharp point on his forehead, the distinctive marking spread up and out as far as his ears and continued all the way over his head, disappearing into the tall collar of his coat; one solid black branding. Ronon had never seen anything like it. The Hunter wore a black armoured vest with silver shoulder plating, accentuating the bulging biceps and thick forearms. 

“Hey, Sheppard?” Ronon called, one hand hovering over his holster. “Y’ dead?”

“Not yet,” came the strained reply. The man’s head was drooping to the right until it made contact with the Hunter’s offhand that was gripping his shoulder. Sheppard jerked to the left as though burned. Ronon grinned when he heard that familiar drawl, “Ugh... Wraith cooties.”

Shifting his gaze back to Todd, Ronon watched to see what he would do. Todd’s profile may have been an impassive mask but his grating snarl hinted at the rage that roiled behind it. “You dare make a runner of one who is mine?” 

His? _His?_ Sheppard did not belong to anyone, least of all a _Wraith_. The Hunter glanced lazily over at Todd and curled his upper lip. “I suppose you think that I should release him if he is yours?” 

“Geez... guys. No need to... fight over me,” Sheppard seemed to struggle to catch his breath. He tried to twist around to yell over his shoulder. 

“You have grown soft, _Old One_. It is pathetic.” In the eerie purple light, the Hunter’s sneering face looked like a dark bruise. “This one is a runner _because_ he is yours, _High Commander_.”

“What?!” Ronon knew that Todd would one day get them all killed. Ignored by both Wraith, Ronon drew his gun, pointing it first at the unknown Hunter and then at the devil he knew.

Todd tilted his head back and peered down his nose at the Hunter. “You will return this human,” Todd’s low warning rumble travelled across the small clearing, “or I will end your life, _Young One._ ”

The Hunter cocked his head to one side. “But we have had such a good time together these past days.” Ronon’s blood ran cold at the thought of Sheppard at the mercy of the Hunter for days. Had he been feeding and returning his friend’s life? The sight of the smiling Wraith carding his fingers through the man’s unruly hair made his blood boil. Sheppard tried to pull away but the Hunter grabbed him by the throat and continued stroking him like a pet.

“Ah, yes. Your ingenious little trap,” Todd scorned, gritting his teeth. “I have long known of this planet and its amaranthine boundary from which there is no escape.” 

Ronon searched along the ridgeline through a break in the canopy which continued its slow curve toward the edge of the plateau. They really were trapped; unscalable peaks on three sides and a deadly precipice on the fourth. Ronon moved in a little closer but stopped when Sheppard let out a squawk of pain.

The Hunter looked at him for the first time, “Be careful where you aim that, _Runner_.”

“It appears you are famous, Satedan,” Todd jeered, drawing the Hunter’s attention away. “My officers discovered your disruption device on the last planet, which gave us this gate address. Rather forgetful of you to leave it there.” That earned a snarl of contempt from the Hunter. “Now, now. I will make good use of it, do not worry.”

“Hey, Todd,” rasped Sheppard. “Maybe don’t piss off the guy...ugh... with his hand around my neck.”

“Yeah,” Ronon added. “What he said.” 

“I am merely congratulating this one on the clever concept,” Todd continued in blatant disregard of John’s warning. 

“My queen grows weary if a hunt lasts many months,” the Hunter explained sourly. “This merely expedites the inevitable.”

“Although…” Todd considered. Oh, crap, Ronon thought. Here we go. “Rigging a gate to send a runner to an inescapable world would be considered by some Wraith to be… _cheating_.”

The Hunter bared teeth at the accusation. “It matters not what _some Wraith_ may believe. I am afraid you, _Old One_ , are too late.” He grabbed Sheppard by the hair and wrenched him around. Bright sunlight hit his swollen face making him hang his head, drawing attention to grey hair flecked with white. His torn shirt revealed a raw feeding scar and five angry claw marks centred on a withered chest. 

Todd roared in savage fury, “No one feeds from one who is _mine_!” 

Everything happened very quickly after that. The Hunter hauled Sheppard up against his chest and pinned him with his feeding hand. The Wraith threw his head back and moaned with pleasure as he resumed feeding. The pain ripped a scream from John’s bloodied lips, the toes of his boots scuffling wildly at the ground. Todd flew into dizzying motion, attacking the horde of advancing drones. Ronon raised his gun to fire as he ran, charging straight at the Hunter, diving under the outstretched feeding hand of the nearest drone. 

A colossal drone hurtled at him from his left, striking into his side and sending him flying into a tree. The force knocked the wind out of him and cracked his ribs with a sickening crunch. On the ground and struggling for breath, he fumbled frantically along the forest floor for his gun. Ronon could see the drone striding towards him, Sheppard’s weakening struggles in the Hunter’s grip not far behind. He had to move. 

He got his feet under him and heaved himself over to the left, landing and turning on his left shoulder, his arm jammed against his busted side. As he rolled toward the Wraith’s legs, he reached behind him to draw his sword, grunting with the effort. Continuing to roll in one smooth movement, the Wraith stumbled over his legs. Ronon whipped the sword into position, ramming the hilt into the ground by his hip. The drone fell onto the sword, which pierced through the armoured breastplate but ground to a brief halt as it struggled to penetrate the dense bone beneath. 

The masked warrior flailed his arms at the weapon, howling as a wet, cracking sound heralded his impending demise. Ronon gripped the hilt in both hands, bellowing in pain as his ribs ground together. He struggled to take the weight of the unfortunate Wraith, his vision threatening to black out. He gagged when a spurt of dark blood spattered across his face before the drone slid all the way down the shaft of the sword until the bone mask struck Ronon's forehead.

“Arrrgh!” he grunted, wrenching his head away and spitting. 

Ronon heaved the body to the side and yanked his sword back out with a revolting slurp. In the centre of the clearing, he could see that Todd had dispatched most of the drones; some lay motionless, their necks twisted unnaturally, and others were twitching on the ground. But the cocky Wraith seemed to sway on his feet. Blood was dripping from several wounds and it became clear that they were far too slow in healing.

Ronon crawled awkwardly towards Sheppard, sword in his left hand and right arm pressed against his grinding ribs. It had been less than a minute but his teammate looked beyond haggard as he swiped feebly at the Hunter’s arm. Panic propelled Ronon further forward, desperate to help Sheppard.

Todd staggered a little as he made his way over to the Hunter. Instead of immediately attacking the one who was draining Sheppard’s life away, Ronon watched in stunned confusion as the breathless Wraith dropped to his knees before his adversary. 

“What the hell‒?” The words died on his lips as a dozen drones emerged from the treeline to form a ring around the clearing. “Shit!”

The Hunter paused his feeding, eyes wide and mocking. “What is this? An _Imperator_ kneeling before a mere _Servolus_... ?”

“Young One,” Todd began, unsurprised at the arrival of more masked warriors, his chest heaving from his frenzied attack on the first troop of drones. “I will tell you only once more. Release this human. He is _mine_.”

“Why would I want to do that? You are clearly no threat to me. Even now you struggle to stay upright,” the Hunter jeered. “And this one’s life is brimming with sweetness unlike anything else. It is most… intoxicating.”

“Mmm, yes. That I know. It is the defiance that you taste,” Todd explained. Then, more to himself, “and the Iratus.” He focused once more and became deadly serious as he met the Hunter’s glare. “But you will release him _and_ return his life. Because, as spirited as this one’s life may be, it is surely not worth your life.”

The Hunter looked uncertain now, not sure whether to believe such a baseless threat. Sheppard shot a nervous look at Ronon. Todd was staring intently at Sheppard who turned to gaze back at him, anxious eyes clouded by his sudden aging. The wounded Wraith tried to explain, “This one… he is not _just_ a human. He is my… brother. But also… more. So much more. You cannot possibly understand, Young One, what I would do for John Sheppard. He is… more than _hive_.”

“Humans cannot be hive!” the Hunter spat. He released Sheppard who crumpled to the ground. Ronon crawled over and dragged his friend up against his chest, propping them both back against a tree. His ribs screamed in protest but he hung on to Sheppard, who felt alarmingly frail.

The Hunter stepped before Todd, leering down the yielding older Wraith, eyes blazing with hunger. A rattling wheeze escaped Sheppard’s throat. “Todd,” he rasped. “What’re... y’ doing?”

Throughout their laboured shuffle to the tree, Todd’s eyes had never left Sheppard’s face. “Sheppard,” he sighed, his voice soft. “ _John_. When we met, you gave me everything and asked for so little in return. So now, I will give you this.” 

Sheppard twisted uncomfortably against Ronon. “What the _hell_ does that... even mean?”

Turning to look at the Hunter, “If you choose to take from me my life, Young One... you must then give Sheppard back what you have stolen from him.” 

The Hunter’s obvious craving warred with lingering doubt. “The essence of an Elder Wraith for the restoration of this _human_?’

With that, Todd removed his coat and then the dark shirt beneath. The hard muscle of the Wraith’s body was leaner, more graceful than the Hunter’s bulk. But it was the revelation of such heavily tattooed green skin that held them all for a moment - humans and Wraith alike. The Hunter gasped audibly as he circled Todd, studying each of the markings in disbelief, one hand unconsciously brushing over the single solid mark that coloured his own head. 

Sheppard jerked forward, meaning to put a stop to what was about to happen, but the brutal feeding had left him so weak it was easy for Ronon to hold him back. “Ronon!” he gasped. “Let me… go! That’s an- an order!”

But Ronon had no intention of letting go. He did have one question; “What’s to stop him draining you and finishing us off anyway?”

Sheppard struggled on for a moment and then stalled, wheezing from the effort, but he wasn’t giving up. “Todd! Damn it! _Todd!_ You can’t trust him! Don’t you get it? Don’t _do_ this!”

Todd ignored Ronon and looked over at Sheppard again and smiled softly. The Hunter returned to stand before him and then reverently set his feeding maw on the elder Wraith’s chest. A build of excess enzyme smeared between hand and body, a slow ooze of greed and thirst. His voice was husky with want, “My word, _veneros_ , Elder. On the life of my mother-queen.”

“Feed, _Servolus_ ,” Todd hissed, and Ronon heard a whisper on the wind... _if you can…_ as Todd closed his eyes as the Hunter engaged and began to feed.

“No!” Sheppard yelled and he thrashed wildly, bucking in Ronon’s arms, screaming himself hoarse. “Please, Todd! Stop! _Please!_ ” 

Ronon clamped his left arm even tighter around Sheppard, his right keeping pressure on his ribs. He just couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening. Was Todd really sacrificing his own life to save John’s? Did he really… _care_ about him that much? A human?

The broken canopy above bathed the two Wraith in dappled lilac light. The mossy green hue was steadily leaching from Todd’s skin, just as his delicate capillaries became swollen grey veins that snaked over withering muscle. Yet still, the Wraith smiled softly, his large hands settling on the Hunter’s arm, long fingers tracing down from elbow to wrist. 

Sheppard shook in Ronon’s arms, sucking down great gulps of air in between sobs that wracked his wasted body. His desperate rasping pleas tore at Ronon, sounding far too much like his own hopeless cries after his people fell to the Wraith. Sheppard reached out a shaking hand, his voice trailing off now to a faint mutter. “Todd… please. You can’t… I can’t...”

“Sheppard,” Todd murmured, his eyes fluttering open. They seemed far too large now in his gaunt face. “You know that I could never leave you.” 

With that, he tilted his head back to look up at the beatific expression on the Hunter’s face. Ronon saw the moment when Todd’s pupils shrunk down to a razor-sharp line, his irises flickering from warm yellow to a pale, toxic lemon. 

_Is this it?_ Ronon thought. _Is Todd really dying?_ Letting go of his shattered ribs, he wrapped Sheppard in an embrace, but the other man was frozen in disbelief. He growled into Sheppard’s ear, “That greedy Hunter _will_ return your life or I will hunt him down and take him apart piece by goddamn piece, Sheppard.”

He wasn’t sure if he correctly heard Sheppard’s whispered reply. “I don’t want it back...”

Clouds passed across both suns, darkening the shadows in the clearing. Ronon’s concern about Sheppard’s disturbing utterance was interrupted by a sudden gut-churning wail, a desperate dual-toned howling sound coming, not from Todd, but from the hulking Hunter. Still in the same position, the Hunter standing over a fading Todd, it took Ronon a moment to understand what he was seeing. 

As the trees swayed, shrouding them in gloomy indigo shadows, Todd’s noxious eyes glowed beneath his protruding brow. His features twisted then into such thunderous ferocity that Ronon understood exactly how this Wraith could rule as a queenless High Commander. Lips pulled right back in a ghoulish snarl, the exposed power that resided in that alien face was simply terrifying. 

Understanding crept over Ronon’s mind, dragging with it a serpentine ache that seethed in sibilant inflections and compelling hypnotic tones. Ronon yelled, “Get outta my head, _Wraith_!”

The Hunter’s screams gave way to a pitiful mewling, panic in his wild eyes, but yet he did nothing to tear himself away. Ronon _knew_ that the paralysed Wraith was completely trapped in the thrall of his elder’s superior mind.

Todd’s long fingers were wrapped so tightly around the Hunter’s wrist that his muscles stood out like ropey chords running down his tattooed arms. **_Foolish Hunter,_ **came the hissing susurration from lips that never moved. **_Your avarice will be your undoing,_ _Young One_.**

The Hunter gaped stupidly at his feeding hand. _Y-you… how?… Why?_

**_Feeding brings connection, the connection allows control, and control lends me your power._ **

_I… will… heal… Old One._

**_Not from this._ **

As Todd squeezed tighter, his mind burned against Ronon’s, but yet it was only a glimmer of the blazing heat focused on the Hunter. The younger Wraith’s face struggled to conceal his pain, his body jerking as he wrestled for control. Ronon realised that he had no chance. It would be over soon for this Wraith and all because he dared take Sheppard. 

Todd hissed, rolling his head back as he bared teeth, a deep guttural groan betraying his exertion as he forced the Hunter to reverse the flow of Life. Ronon was not imagining the hot pressure that was steadily building inside his own mind. He let go of Sheppard to grab at his head, pressing down hard on his temples. Lying on the ground beside him, he could see Sheppard was doing the same. He rocked back and forth in an attempt to alleviate the crushing force bearing down on his brain, gritting his teeth and breathing too fast.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the Hunter, who was bleeding from his nose, his ears, his eyes. All around the clearing, drones were on their knees grasping their heads, ripping off their masks and keening incomprehensible sounds.

Todd growled, **_None may take from Sheppard._**

The mental compression was almost too much to bear and Ronon lay there shivering and inhaling great gulps of air. He looked away from the manic Wraith and noticed that his friend was not moving. “Sheppard? Hey, Shep? John? _John!_ ”

Ronon felt the full force of the powerful Wraith’s mind roll toward them, a searing heat that threatened to descend and incinerate them both. Ronon tried to brace himself somehow but the mental blaze abruptly curled away again as Todd cried out, “ _Sheppard?!_ ”

Shaking Sheppard, who remained limp and lifeless, Ronon felt the Wraith’s boiling rage turn to ice-cold fear and splinter out of control. Todd’s lethal fingers squeezed too hard, snapping the Wraith’s wrist and crushing the sensitive feeding organ within, the Hunter’s whine rising to a shrill screeching. The giant Wraith tore his crushed arm away and cradled it to his chest, swaying over Todd, his bloody eyes glazing over. 

Todd faltered as he rose to his feet and Ronon felt a barrier descend over his mind, muting the phrenic onslaught that forced the drones to cease their struggles and give in to death. The Hunter made stuttered choking sounds and his eyes rolled back revealing pure white orbs. Todd loomed before the Hunter who fell back onto the dead drone lying behind him, his boorish features frozen in a rictus of agony. _Dead_. 

The pressure in Ronon’s mind dissipated as Todd turned around, blinking sluggishly down at Sheppard. “Hey! Todd! Snap out of it!”

Those toxic eyes cleared, darkening to yellow, as Todd stumbled his way over and pushed Ronon out of the way. The Wraith held him back with his offhand, those long pale fingers shaking against his skin. He watched with rising panic as Todd cradled John’s head in the palm of his feeding hand. Ronon opened his mouth to protest as Todd brought his forehead down to meet John’s, but all sound was caught in his throat, trapped by his hope that John was okay.

_**No. No‒no‒no‒no‒no‒no!** _Where there had once been burning pressure, Ronon felt a wave of misery billow from Todd’s mind to his own. The Wraith was rocking with John’s body, virescent shoulders curved around to protect him from the rain. 

Silence rang loud in Ronon’s ears as he held his breath against the onslaught of choking grief. _No. Please… no. He can’t be..._

But then Todd roared; a raw, primal howl that resonated in Ronon’s teeth and shook right through his bones. 

  


***********************************************************************************


	3. END

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For once, Ronon and Todd are united, but only because they are both struggling to accept what has happened to Sheppard...
> 
> So. Where to from here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note on John and Todd...  
> *If you're not a John/Todd shipper, this story could be considered more of an exploration of what it means to a Wraith to name someone as a 'Brother' and what they'll do to protect each other, even if that brother is human.  
> *If you ship John/Todd, this story fits a year or so after returning to Pegasus. John and Todd have been quietly developing their relationship in private. It has been going at a glacial speed but it has been moving along, though they've been careful to keep it to themselves.

Ronon felt dazed, as though the world around him had slowed to a crawl and he struggled to think, to move. Todd had Sheppard clutched to him, his marbled skin stretched taut across his back, paper-thin over the spurs of his spine. The Wraith was a statue of grief, an ode to profound sorrow. As if in supplication, the clouds surrendered, pelting the ground with freezing rain. 

Stirred from his fog by the icy drizzle, Ronon crawled behind his friend and looped his arms around Sheppard’s waist. He realised he was speaking; mumbling old nonsense prayers he half-recalled from better days. 

Ronon looked over Sheppard’s shoulder at the Wraith. Alien eyes peered out from behind stringy white strands and Ronon witnessed that fear again, but this time the Wraith was consumed by it. Todd set his feeding hand on Sheppard’s chest but then he hesitated. Ronon wondered if the Wraith expected him to argue and refuse the Gift of Life on Sheppard’s behalf. 

“Do it!” He ground out, gripping his friend’s tattered shirt to expose his sunken chest.

“Satedan,” Todd whispered. “I expended much of my energy healing after the drones attacked and then connecting with the Hunter. I wasted even more when I… lost control.”

“Yeah,” Ronon rumbled. “When we almost had our brains leaking outta our ears.”

“I did not know it could… I never would have tried…,” the Wraith shook his head, eyes imploring him to listen. “Ronon Dex. What matters now is that I may not have enough left to bring him back and last long enough to see if he lives again. If I fade, you must keep my hand upon his chest. The Gift will continue until I draw my last breath.”

He nodded hastily and Todd grabbed onto Ronon’s shoulder for balance as he set his claws into Sheppard’s chest. Ronon laid his sun-browned hand over Todd’s pallid one. The Wraith pressed his palm down gently, wide eyes searching Sheppard’s face for the slightest sign of life.

All he could do was wait, shivering and wet, one arm wrapped around Sheppard’s waist and his eyes darting from his friend to the Wraith. Todd went paler still, his skin going chalky and white before he slumped forward, his head resting on Sheppard’s shoulder and his breaths slowing. Ronon held the feeding hand down, his own hand humming from the tiny vibrations running down Todd’s arm.

Ronon realised then that he was crying, sobbing quietly in the pelting rain. How could a Wraith feel this strongly about a human? Todd was only interested in John because of what he could get out of him… right? The wraith calculated and he manipulated. He didn’t feel or care or... or  _ sacrifice  _ himself…

He felt the Wraith’s full weight collapse over them both, forcing Ronon to ease all three of them backwards to the ground, Sheppard’s head resting on his chest and Todd dropping to the side. His wizened hand still lay trapped beneath Ronon’s, but the humming had given out. 

Ronon just lay there. Clouds concealed the suns overhead and the shadows grew darker around them, herding the first waves of grief closer. 

He was staring vacantly when Todd’s eyes fluttered open, the Wraith confused to somehow still be alive. He looked at Ronon, lost and broken, a miserable question on his face. Ronon couldn’t bear to say it out loud and simply let go of Todd’s hand. He hadn’t noticed he was still holding it until then. The Wraith went utterly still, his face shutting down completely. 

Closing his eyes, Ronon imagined that the rain was washing him away...

“Aw. Why’d y--,” a rattling cough interrupted the muffled drawl. Stuck between Ronon and Todd, Sheppard rubbed his chest and tried again, slurring a little. “Why’d y’ stop... holding hands? ‘t was cute.”

“Boss?!”

_ “Sheppard?” _

**************

Night had fallen, but the tiny daystar hovered just above the horizon, lit up like a crimson warning. The swollen moon illuminated the entrance of the cave where Ronon was sitting. Sitting, and brooding. 

Pale light filtered through the fissure in the crystalline cliff face, refracting down a short tunnel that opened out into a dark chamber. The combination of the green mossy floor and shadowy purple moonlight reminded him a little bit too much of a hiveship. Todd should be right at home then.

Ronon had stubbornly put himself on guard duty so Sheppard could rest, laying his sword across his lap and keeping his stunner at hand. Todd had barely been able to give John enough Life to bring him back and the guy still looked terrible. The Wraith wasn’t much better. Ronon had prodded every drone from that second wave but they’d all been taken out by Todd’s psychic meltdown. Bracing Sheppard between them, it had to be some kind of miracle when they managed to reach the cave. 

Shifting a bit in an attempt at finding a more comfortable position, Ronon’s pained grunt echoed in the hollow space. Man, his ribs were killing him. Agonizing stabs kept shooting down his battered flank in time with his heartbeat and that same steady pulse thudded in his mind where he had felt the Wraith in his head.

At least that thought was helping him stay awake; he didn’t want Todd poking around his mind now that the Wraith had discovered a way in.

“Silence your mind,  _ Satedan _ ,” a grating voice resonated from the depths of the cave. “I care not for the mundane thoughts that occupy you, but I do care for sufficient rest.”

“Get outta my head,  _ Wraith _ ,” Ronon hissed back, keeping his volume low so as not to wake Sheppard. He could just make out his teammate’s exhausted figure, passed out against the back wall of the cave. Ronon chose not to acknowledge that his friend was bundled up in Todd’s coat. 

“I would gladly extricate myself from your tedious musings but, sadly, I cannot,” Todd sighed, shuffling his prone form a little closer to Sheppard. 

“That’s close enough, Todd.” Ronon was surprised when the Wraith actually went still. “Look,  _ Todd _ , if I’m stuck now with you in my--”

“Relax, human,” the Wraith whispered, glancing at Sheppard who was wheezing a little in his sleep. “It will fade in time. My officer will come for us and this ordeal will be at an end.”

An end that wasn’t coming soon enough for Ronon. Even after everything he’d seen, and everything that Todd had been willing to do - hell, even after feeling that devastating despair flooding from the Wraith’s mind - Ronon continued to struggle with accepting Todd as anything other than what he was; a Wraith. Was it possible that Todd was more than just a merciless predator who sucked the life out of human beings to keep himself alive?

Todd growled then and Ronon felt it reverberate in the walls and stutter through his mind. The Wraith muttered, “I should have given  _ you  _ to that Hunter. He might have taken you for Sheppard,  _ Runner _ .”

Ronon balled his hands into fists and raged, battling hard to keep his voice down. “What?! That’s why you came to Atlantis. To use me for trade!” He couldn’t  _ believe  _ it. Actually, he could  _ absolutely  _ believe it.  _ That no good, scheming, manipulative-- _

“Are you suggesting that you would not have allowed me to exchange you for the esteemed Colonel Sheppard? Hmmm?” Todd scoffed. 

Ronon quietly seethed as he rubbed his hand along the cured wraith-leather scabbard that held his sword. To his right, the daystar was touching the horizon now, pointing a blood-red line at him from across the deathly still water. 

No, the Wraith were nothing more than ruthless killers. Ronon still carried the loss of Sateda like a festering wound and he would do so for the rest of his life. 

It was only by hanging onto his suffering that he had been able to keep running for all those years. He never gave in and let them win, even when every fibre of his being longed for sweet oblivion. 

No. He would keep fighting to honour all those who had fallen in Sateda that day. And he would live on just to spite those wretched monsters. 

_ No _ . That was the price he had to pay for surviving when everyone else perished. Nothing would ever free him from that hell.  _ Not a goddamned thing… _

“No! I wouldn’t allow  _ you  _ to trade me… but…,” he croaked out, “ I’d’ve taken Sheppard’s place. If that Hunter’d take me.”

Todd replied then as though he was quoting someone; “Satedan Specialist Ronon Dex, the only human to Run for seven years and then escape the Wraith. The human who leads the New Lanteans to our hives. The one who slays our Brothers... and takes from their flesh.”

The Wraith may have been mocking him but Ronon couldn’t help his satisfaction at commanding such a reputation. Gripping the hilt of his sword, so familiar it felt like a part of his body, he contemplated its origin. From his first kills as a Runner, the dead masked warriors provided an arm bone for the shaft and hair for binding. The crossguard came from the jaw of the drones’ Handler, the teeth still intact after all these years. That sword had saved his life many times. But with the damn Wraith in his head, it seemed grotesque. 

Ronon put the sword on the ground next to him. “So. Wraith’ve heard of me.”

“Heard of you?” Todd chuckled. “That device I mentioned... the one which alters any dialed address to send a Runner here?”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you think that Hunter’s Queen commissioned such a thing…,” the Wraith turned his head and looked pointedly at Ronon. “Five of your years ago?”

_ Shit _ . They designed that thing to try and catch  _ him  _ back when he had been Running. Ronon scowled down at his hands. It was because of  _ him  _ that Sheppard got stuck here. His friend had suffered while he had been safely shielded in Atlantis. It was  _ his  _ fault that John had been trapped and fed on, tortured by that Hunter. If only he--

“Enough!” Todd snarled and sat up. As though Sheppard could sense their unrest, he shifted in his sleep, mumbling something incoherent. Ronon watched how the man’s movements immediately distracted the Wraith, those inhuman eyes sweeping over Sheppard’s sleeping face. Turning back, the Wraith demanded, “Answer me this, Satedan.”

Ronon leaned his head back against the cool, smooth rock and raised an eyebrow. _ This should be good.  _

“If it had been you who died when Sateda fell,” Todd began, pausing when Ronon sat up straight, his hand on the sword. “Would you be glad to know that a fallen Brother had lived on in your place?”

Yes.

“Would you wish, for your Brother, a long life free from the burden of guilt simply for being alive?”

_ Yes _ .

“And did you not just now admit you would have taken John Sheppard’s place if you had been given the chance?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

“I had no intention of forcing you,” Todd admitted quietly. “I did not believe I would need to.” 

“I…,” Ronon began, trailing off as the Wraith reclined once more. Todd rolled onto his side to face his human Brother, putting his back to the cave’s entrance. Ronon shook his head in wonder as the Wraith’s breathing evened out and silence returned to their shelter.

And then, in the disquiet of Ronon’s mind, came a soft susurration;  _ Be at peace, Ronon Dex. _

**********

Ronon jolted when his head tipped forward, forcing him to swallow down a scream that threatened to burst from his cracked ribs. He clutched at his side and searched for the flaming daystar to focus on, but it had finally dipped below the horizon. 

With a cold, sinking feeling, Ronon realised he must have dozed off. He struggled to his feet to take a quick look outside. They needed to get off this world before more Hunters showed up. Despite the slightly elevated position of their cave, he couldn’t see the Stargate. More Wraith could come at any moment by dart or transport anyway. He never thought he’d say it, but he wanted Todd’s people to hurry up and get here. 

All seemed quiet enough to satisfy his Runner’s instincts, not that they’d been of use today. Was he getting too old for this? Keller told him that his years of running - always moving, surviving on a poor diet, struggling on even when seriously ill - had left him a body littered with poorly healed injuries and brittle bones. But that didn’t explain how he’d failed to notice the missing DHD, or blindly charged through the trees and wound up taking a dive. 

He slunk back into the cave and froze. Todd had rolled onto his back but now Ronon could see Sheppard’s arm draped loosely around his waist and that silvery shock of hair tucked beneath the Wraith’s chin.  _ What the hell?  _ And on every slow exhale, the Wraith seemed to be… wait. Was he  _ purring _ ? 

Ronon found himself looming over the sleeping pair, stunner in one hand, sword in the other. The Wraith was weak, vulnerable. It would be so easy. After all, the only good Wraith’s a dead Wraith, right?

But then, if this Wraith had ended up  _ good and dead  _ today, Atlantis would lose its alliance with Todd’s hives. More importantly, the people of Pegasus would lose the one chance they had at changing their fate. 

And… Ronon would have lost Sheppard.  _ John _ . The one who took him in, gave him a home, a family, and never left a man behind.

Colonel John Sheppard. The insolent Earther who dared to partner with a Wraith and set an entire galaxy on a different path. The cavalier leader who named him ‘Todd’ and somehow that meant he’d claimed the Wraith as  _ his _ . 

Todd. The Wraith who fished Ronon out of that river and then threw himself into a fight that wasn’t his. And who, upon seeing John’s wilted form lying motionless on the ground, tore open the sky with a devastating wail of boundless grief, shaking the very ground beneath them. 

All for a human. For  _ Sheppard _ . 

Now that he knew exactly what that Wraith would do for John, he couldn’t just erase it from his mind. And...

...well… 

...it helped. Ronon was reluctant to admit it, and would only ever so do in the privacy of his thoughts, but seeing what that Wraith was willing to do… yeah. It helped. 

The moonlight brightened for a moment, catching the crystals framing the entrance and refracting a prism of twinkling purples across the Wraith and the Human. Ronon noted how Sheppard’s hand gripped the Wraith’s shirt with bloodied fingers, tense and unyielding even in sleep, his other hand caught in the wild tangle of Todd’s mane. He studied the expression on his friend’s face, peaceful, a far cry from the twisted horror when he thought the Wraith was dying.

Ronon made himself stare at Todd’s predatory hands and the possessive way they held onto his friend. His eyes traveled along the Wraith’s pale, rigid arms up to bowed shoulders, frozen in a hunch as though shielding Sheppard from harm.  He jerked his head in realisation; the Wraith’s open eyes stared back at him.  _ Awake _ . His hand tightened on his weapon, an ingrained reflex. He breathed slowly and stretched his stiff fingers.

Even though Todd’s pupils were so wide they crowded his eyes with black, he could easily see that they were ringed in gold. Then Todd tilted his chin up, waiting for his response, anticipating his rage or contempt.

Obscured by the motley shadows, clawed fingers carded through Sheppard’s messy grey mop, still peppered through with white. Sheppard responded by nuzzling in closer, burying his face into the crook of the alien’s neck. Todd stared back at him, his expression open and unguarded, and Ronon felt a feather-light offering that fluttered at the edges of his mind. It lasted for only a moment, but what he learned shocked the hardened warrior to his core. 

Within Ronon’s mind whirled a series of unsettling images. There had been that lightning flash of raw fear back in the Gateroom. The toxic yellow rage and sallow heartbroken misery as the Wraith rocked with Sheppard’s body. And then the wild acidic desperation as he’d fed his life into John… those eyes going pale and milky, silvering with age.  _ Was it possible…? _

Sheppard’s head lifted off the Wraith’s chest, eyes struggling to stay open. “Was th’ matter?” He squinted at Todd for a moment before giving him a drunk smile. Noticing Ronon, Sheppard’s eyes darted from his friend to the Wraith and back, mind furiously working through possible explanations. He made to move away, then changed his mind. Todd huffed, eyes wide with surprise.

“Hey, Chewie,” he said weakly. “Think I’m a bit old to give the ‘he’s just a friend’ excuse,” he quipped. Taking in the condition of his hands, he muttered, “a  _ lot  _ old.”

“No, Sheppard. He’s not your friend,” Ronon mumbled, focusing on the floor.  _ Well, what was he then? _ “He… he’s--” 

“My Brother,” Sheppard finished. Todd gaped at Sheppard, who watched Ronon while he fixed his eyes on the ground. 

He could not accept this Wraith as one of them, and certainly not as  _ team _ . But perhaps he could make peace with a being who would give anything to protect  a member of Ronon’s family. He met Sheppard’s dark, defiant eyes. 

“’Kay.” 

Ronon decided that Sheppard’s ‘ _ Brother’  _ was somehow a little less awful than Sheppard’s ‘ _ Wraith’ _ . He peered intently at those gilded eyes, their dark pupils glittered violet by this strange world. 

“But,” he added, “just him.” Ronon granted his concession to this  _ one  _ Wraith. He would do this for his friend.  _ For John. _

Todd nodded once and looked away,  a solemn covenant straining between their weary minds. John watched silently as Ronon backed away a little, giving him a tired half-smile before setting his head back down on Todd’s chest. 

Ronon watched over them from his post at the cave’s mouth, sword and gun at hand. Sheppard sank back into sleep in seconds. Todd brushed his face against Sheppard’s hair, the ghost of a tender smile playing on his lips and an unspoken **_Shepparrrd_** growling fondly within his mind. Ronon had to look away then as further proof of the Wraith’s humanity glinted softly in the dark. Weapons in hand, he staggered back towards his post at the cave’s mouth, the scent of _astrum_ flowers beckoning him on the breeze. 

  
So. It turned out that  _ this  _ Wraith could cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Ronon's point of view has been a challenge so I hope I've done his character some justice here. Rather than stick to his 'all or nothing' viewpoint, he went in a different direction, creating a third option for dealing with Sheppard's Wraith, one that he could live with.
> 
> Poor John managed to walk away (hobble away?) from all of this and just needs a bit of a Life top-up as soon as they reach Todd's hive and an unsuspecting drone lumbers on by. Also, now his Wraith brother and his Satedan brother are going to get along great... right? XD
> 
> And Todd. It was a diabolical pleasure as always. xxx

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to check out the larger art pieces that go with this story! Thank you for reading! :D

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Fanart for 'Nowhere to Run'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26853196) by [picturae (Eos_x)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eos_x/pseuds/picturae)




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